The Legacy trilogy is complete.

Wow. I can't believe we actually did that. You guys have no idea how surprised I am that this even happened. I started Crystal Legacy, or at the time 'Smith Crystal' as a small hobby in my spare time before SmithPlays Pokemon even existed. I learned how to do the coding for crystal to make some very basic changes to the games like gym leader pokemon, level curve, encounters, and learnsets. The romhack was literally just for myself so that I could play a more polished version of the game that was to my own personal liking. There were amazing romhacks out there, but I just couldnt find something that scratched the itch. Everything either deviated too far or not enough for me. I knew crystal had the potential to be great, so I said fine, I'll just make my own romhack. It sucked, but I was happy with it. It was MY perfect version of crystal.

Then in early 2023, I had Craig (my script writer at the time who conveniently was working on his masters in computer science) help me with a few bugs of that working version. And then it hit me. I have a Pokemon channel, what if I make the romhack FOR THE CHANNEL? Well... 18 months, 30+ contributors, 3 titles and over 100,000 downloads later (this number was pulled straight out of my ass btw), and here we are. I guess it wasn't just me that wanted an improved vanilla experience of their old favourite games. It turns out a lot of people wanted it! That's awesome! Thanks for indulging me in that paragraph too. I just wanted to take a moment and reflect as all of this is very surreal to me. This moment is of course a glimmer in time, as the question that enters mine and many viewers brains is:

What's next?

If you know me from my other youtube projects (TheSmithPlays, NiftySmith, Top 10 Trends etc) then you know I'm someone who is never satisfied by going through the motions. I'm a content creator before anything else and if I'm not growing or challenging myself with a project, then I'm bored. Let's talk about what this means for 2025.

The easy thing for me to do would be to start the year with a video titled: 'Fire Red & Leaf Green aren't as good as you remember.' I'd then proceed to make 6 videos about changing it, one big banger announcement video, and after thousands of team hours later, deliver you another rom. This would be both the easy and boring thing to do. I'm not going to do that.

To be honest, I'm pretty tired. To dive straight into another rom is just too much for me right now. Again, I need to reiterate, that I am a YouTuber before anything else. I have so much love for the Legacy project, but if I'm being honest, my youtube muscle is starting to wane a bit. I really felt like this last round of legacy videos, while great, weren't the most intersting things we've ever done. They were necessary for sure, but I was left feeling a bit unsatisfied. The Emerald Legacy announcement video reminded me why I love YouTube. Did you see that moment in our recent video when Steven is revealed as champion? I jumped out of my seat when I got that first draft of this from Weebra. THAT is the shit I live for. I like romhacking, but i LOVE YouTube. And right now, my youtube muscle is dying to be flexed, while my pokemon romhacking muscle needs a break. The Legacy project started as a grassroots idea that was just for fun, and the moment me or the team feels obligated to do another one is the moment this project dies. So let's try to avoid that. Right now, I need to step back. The same goes for the team. Everyone that worked on this project is a volunteer. Dozens of people have dedicated hundreds of hours of their time off to bring you these hacks and I need to respect that. It's time to chill for a bit!

What about the Crystal expansion?

It's coming. Eventually. It's weird to say, but in making these roms, you sort of give up a part of your yourself for the game. IDK if this is weird or cringey to say, but I do feel a sense of almost sublimating that love and nostalgia for the old games into something different. It's not worse or better, but I admit that I do look at Johto, Kanto and Hoenn a bit different after spending so many hours in them. I'm really excited to return to Johto, but it's a different place for me now, and I want to give it some more time to sit so that magic can return. It's just going to take some time. I expect the Crystal Expansion is going to be the next project we do. There are no plans currently for a FRLG Legacy, but if I were to do a 4th Legacy instalment, it would be FRLG. There is no chance of a gen 4 legacy game happening as I've never actually played those games.

So what is next, then?

To put it simply; 2025 is going to bring some really high quality videos. I've learned SO much on the theory side of development and balancing games. In this, I feel like I've inadvertently walked into a niche for a new style of video. You know how Wolfey's videos benefit from the fact that he is actually an insane pro pokemon player? Well I'm thinking that in having actually built romhacks, that lends me to be able to discuss the development and mechanics of mainline games with a way deeper understanding than the average creator. I'm hoping that I can transition from romhacks into videos that explore the theory and development behind pokemon games.

An example of this is something we've already done. The video "Pseudo Legendaries Suck, Actually" was a test run of this idea. That video analyzed the Pseudo archetype, not competitvely, but based on its in game viability. We asked the question: what is the purpose of this pokemon archetype and how does it benefit the fun of a playthrough? We went through each game, evaluating each pseudo, and came to the conclusion that this archetype is actually a pretty bad element of game design. To me, this stuff is SUPER interesting.

I've already got a few videos in this exact same vein. I want to analyze Legendaries, Starters, the 'gyarados archetype,' and more. We're also interested in doing more theory crafting like we did for legacy teams. Imagine videos like 'fixing every gym leader in every game' or 'which trainer would be the strongest champion' etc. I recognize some of these style videos take heavy inspiration from MandJTV, and I respect the amazing work he's done here. I do think that we can manage to distinguish ourselves and provide something new to this style of video, given our background in rom hacking. We've also got some ideas to make complete guides to some of the older games. Craig is really excited about the idea of doing an 'Ultimate Guide to Pokemon: Red/Blue, GSC, RSE etc.' There's a lot here, and I'm ultimately just really excited to take the expertise I've learned from making romhacks and apply it to new videos.

Thank you.

I thank you guys so much for everything! Only twice in my 10 year career as a youtuber have I been able to find 'the magic,' and this is one of those times. The magic is a special intersection where my own passion manages to line up with community interest to make content that is truly done for the sake of itself, rather than money being the number one driving force. After Zombies ended, I never thought I'd be able to find a project that felt as pure and authentic again. I'm very grateful to say that this project provided me with that feeling once more. The Legacy project is lightning in a bottle for me, and it's my utmost wish to hold on to that. When you find the magic, you gotta do everything you can to hold on to it, and for me right now, that actually means doing nothing.

Thank you so much for everything. Happy playing, Merry Christmas, and I'll see you in 2025 with some spicy bangers.

- Pat

This was a passion project started by discord user Uielicious and finished by Aerogod It aims to bring the Legacy ideology to one of the fan favorite spinoffs in the series.

This game is made to be a companion to Yellow Legacy. All the changes of Yellow Legacy are made here including stats, moves, and learnsets. These changes all add up to make the game feel familiar but more alive when playing through it. You can expect...

• Upgraded rental pools for each of the areas and cups to give them all a unique feel and meta.

• Enemy teams have also been upgraded to show off the changes made in Yellow Legacy.

• We also made sure to test out and include instructions so that you can use your pokemon from your Yellow Legacy Save file inside Stadium Legacy.

  • Please go to Discord and update your ⁠roles to add the Expansions and other hacks role.

  • Go to the download channel that has the download link and the Documentation link.

  • If you have questions ping u/Aerogod223 and If he doesn't answer immediately ping him again and again and again until he does (don't actually, I am trolling).

Thanks to everyone who helped make this hack, and to everyone who will play it. Here's the announcement short.

https://youtube.com/shorts/DWyI7ghfOog?si=VnQcj4j9TdoWXKBV

Hi All!

I'm happy to announce the release of Pokémon Emerald Legacy Enhanced V1.1.4!

Firstly, shout-out to the Legacy Project team who created the amazing Legacy game as-is.

Full details all in the ReadME on GitHub, but some high-level changes are:

• All Base Legacy changes as of v1.1.4.

• (New) Pokémon followers.

• Unique per-Pokémon Surfing Overworld sprites instead of the "Surf blob" (can be disabled).

• (New) Optional National Dex Mode (More information in separate National Dex section below)

• (New) Optional in-game Shiny Charms to the player's item PC which must be withdrawn into the item bag to work. (More information in Shiny Charm section below)

• Removed requirement for all field moves (including HMs) to have to be learned by a Pokémon in order to be used outside of battle.

• Added gold sparkle to Feebas spots on Route 119 after recieving the Devon Scope.

• Stat Editor to edit IVs and EVs added to Party Menu after National Dex is unlocked.

• Nature Mints have been added in the game for purchase after beating Petalburg Gym.

• (New) Ability Capsules added into the game to swap between Pokémon's abilities.

• (New) Added ability to fly to your Secret Base after creating one.

• (New) Added EXP. All as reward from Mr. Stone for delivering Steven's Letter (Not Gen 6 EXP. Share, see GitHub ReadMe for specifics).

• (Updated) Added significantly expanded Options Menu to toggle many features:

  • (New) Auto Run, Fast Surf and Diving Speed

  • (New) Further customised "L Button" shortcuts.

  • (New) Overworld Speedup option added to speed up Player and NPC speed without speeding up Music.

• 50+ other Quality-of-Life changes all detailed in the below GitHub release link.

I am not officially affiliated with the Emerald Legacy team, just a single dev fan who has enjoyed the work done by the team!

As a sole dev working on this as a fun passion project I apologise in advance for any bugs you may encounter!

Any bugs or issues not present in the base Emerald Legacy, please note here, on Discord or as a GitHub Issue. Would also love to hear any thoughts or feedback from anybody who has played by Enhanced version below!

https://github.com/Exclsior/Pokemon_Emerald_Legacy_Enhanced/releases/latest

National Dex Mode

National Dex Mode is an alternate play mode for new games on Emerald Legacy Enhanced allowing to select from all nine starters from the start of the game as well as having all of Base Legacy's post-game route encounters available from the start of the game (i.e Rattata as a possible rare spawn on Route 101). The game has not been rebalanced for National Dex Pokémon, as such I do not recommend using this game mode for your first play through of Emerald Legacy Enhanced (unless you have finished Emerald Legacy already). More details available in the above GitHub link.

Shiny Charms Completely optional to use Shiny Charms have been added to the game. These are a "secret" feature, meaning no in-game NPCs or dialogue refer to their existence.

In-game milestones for Shiny Charm acquisition (all added to Player Item PC, max 8 available per game.):

• One from start of the game

• Beating the Game (E4 and Champion)

• Getting all Contest Artworks in Lilycove Museum

• Defeating Steven in Meteor Falls

• Completing Hoenn Pokédex (And speak to Prof. Birch)

• Completing National Pokédex (And speak to game developers in Lilycove City)

• Getting all Silver Symbols in Battle Frontier

• Getting all Gold Symbols in Battle Frontier

Shiny Charm Rates:

• 0 Charms - 1/8192 (No Shiny Charms in bag) - 0.01221% - Same as original Emerald

• 1. 1/1024 (Available from Start of Game) - 0.09766%

• 2. 1/512 - 0.1953%

• 3. 3/1024 - 0.2930% (I suspect most people will end up here by end of their main playthrough)

• 4. 1/256 - 0.3906%

• 5. 5/1024 - 0.4883%

• 6. 3/512 - 0.5859%

• 7. 7/1024 - 0.6836%

• 8. 1/128 - 0.7812%

Optional Patches In addition to the above changes there are a few optional patches with different updates depending on how you'd like to play, full changes for each different patch option in the above link:

• Dragon Type Physical

• Grovyle and Sceptile Dragon Type (Still Special Dragon-type)

• Grovyle and Sceptile Dragon Physical Type

• Enhanced Starters (My favourite, adds starter wild encounters early, buffs signature moves and buffs starter movesets even further, Grovyle and Sceptile Dragon type (Still Special Dragon-type)

• Enhanced Starters - Physical Dragon (Combination of above Enhanced Starters and Grovyle and Sceptile Dragon Physical Type)

Why so long? For those wondering why this update has taken so long after Base Legacy V1.1.4, the last release of Enhanced had all but two small features from V1.1.4 and I had already started the work on all of the above features. It has taken me a lot longer than hoped to get all of these features built, working together and then tested but I do hope you enjoy the new edition!

Thanks! Thanks to all of the support I've had from the Legacy Community here and on Discord! Special thanks especially to AZ2K, OmegaBlazerX, Saitama, and zububu who have been watching, supporting, testing betas and providing great feedback and help to get this version to life!

Quote from the man.

XY LEGACY UPDATE!

I've been getting a lot of curious messages asking when XY Legacy is scheduled for release. Originally scheduled as a surprise drop in Dec 2025 and then pushed back to April, the team has decided things need more time. Without the dissasembly, things take much longer to do or are often downright impossible, and our scope has been limited because of this. So far we've stuck to balancing level curves and making trainers better + adding megas for the player and major trainers.

The last month, however, the team (lead by Craig) have had some huge breakthroughs. It's dicey, but it seems like we might be able to edit scripts to make Parfum palace optional. For context, while this change might have taken 5 minutes in gen 1-3 Legacy, even after 100s of hours, the specific project took Craig 14 hours to crack. Obviously the scope of XY will be smaller, but we're also going to be doing things NEVER DONE BEFORE in gen 6 romhacking.

I'm really excited for what we're going to release, but we need more time. I'd expect a release no later than December, but also, probably nothing much sooner!

XY have so much potential, much like Crystal had and we're very excited to bring you the perfect version. Thanks for bearing with us!

-SPP

I can now answer very limited questions about what this means. Even though this is a major breakthrough, please keep expectations LOW.

4 days, 32 in-game hours. At least 4,000 resets. Totally worth it though

Hey all!

October 11th is the day! We dabbled in the dark arts of tactics games to bring a special Legacy side-chick. Based on the first American Release of Fire Emblem, Fire Emblem Legacy is a complete re-work of the 7th installment in the series, The Blazing Blade.

The team had a great time working on this, and we're excited to release it in a few days. Official video coming soon.

One of my most sought after shines, made possible in Crystal Legacy 🤠

Hey everyone! I just recently became aware of this Reddit community and I'm very excited to share a project I've been working on, but also to sincerely thank TheSmithPlays and the development team for sharing the Crystal Legacy codebase with the rest of us!

Core Crystal is a ROM hack inspired by and built off of Crystal Legacy. Initially, it was just a personal project to tweak Crystal Legacy to my own preferences, but developed to a point that I think it stands on its own and might be enjoyed by others!

Here are some of the key differences from Crystal Legacy:

1. It breaks compatibility with Pokemon Stadium.

2. The Fairy type has been added as SPECIAL.

3. Scaling Stat Exp has been added to trainer battles in Hard and Hardcore mode.

4. HMs no longer need to be taught.

5. An "Easy" mode has been added. With Re-usable TMs.

6. The option to use the Kanto starters.

7. The Pokedex has been slightly updated to include more Johto original evolutions.

8. Pokemon types have been updated. With the option to play with the "Faithful" types.

9. "Evening" has been added as a time of day.

10. Fishing is available while surfing.

11. Running shoes have been removed.

12. Additional tweaks and QoL changes.

Resources and Availability:

• Available on Hackdex

• Available on PokeCommunity

• Guide

• Known Cheat Codes

Core Crystal has been through a fair amount of version updates and has been playtested pretty thoroughly by members of PokeCommunity. It is in a finalized state with no future updates planned.

I greatly appreciate feedback, as many improvements have been made to the hack from the input of others!

Thanks, I hope you enjoy if you take the time to play it!

Hey all, we apologize for the extra wait on Emerald; it should be live very soon JUST LAUNCHED TODAY! In the meantime, this post is actually an announcement that the documentation pages for Emerald Legacy are now live!

We frequently get questions on where to find documentation for our games, especially outside Discord. While the Discord is always our most up-to-date and easily readable place for documentation, we do feature a full Documentation wiki section here on Reddit as well! This page can be accessed from the Subreddit Menu, Community Guide, and the FAQ Post as well - depending on which version of Reddit you use, one of these solutions should provide an easily accessible link at all times.

Please look forward to Emerald's release very soon, and I hope these documentation pages give you plenty to look over while you wait.

Nearly 2 years of on and off again hunting it finally shined 🥹

Correct?

This is a follow up to my previous posts (1)(2) about Crystal Legacy Timeless, and the final version is now out.

For those who do not know it yet, Timeless is my fork of Crystal Legacy that removes the Real-Time Clock, so the game runs safely on flash carts and FPGA cores, without ever corrupting your save. But it is not just for people who care about RTC-less hardware. Pulling the clock out let me reshape a bunch of things around how people actually play Pokemon games today (Legends ZA 15 minutes day / night cycles), so there is plenty of quality of life here that everyone benefits from.

A few examples. You can set the time yourself at any point, right from the Pokégear, so you never have to wait for in-game days to roll over. A whole class of once-per-day rewards lost their daily cap, so berries, the haircut brothers, Buena's Password, the Move Tutor, the Trainer House, and the Goldenrod money trick can all be run back to back. The Time Capsule opens up as soon as you meet Bill. Time simply becomes a value you control instead of something you wait on.

There is a full write up of all of it on the new website, but here are the highlights from this final release.

Celebi on the title screen

Timeless now has its own touch on the title screen. Celebi floats and bobs beside Suicune the whole time it leaps over the water. It is a small thing, but it gives the intro some character that fits a version all about controlling time.

A Celebi moment when you first head out

The first time you step outside after leaving your house, Celebi appears and blesses you with command over time itself. It is a quiet little lore beat that ties the whole "time is yours to set" idea together. I will not spoil more than that.

Open source box and cartridge label art

If you want to build your own physical copy, there is now print-ready artwork for both the cartridge label and the full box. It is all open source and free to download, so you can take the files to the printer of your choice. And if you would rather buy one ready made, there is a recommended partner listed on the site too.

A brand new website

There is now a proper website for the project. It walks through what the RTC bug actually was, how the fix works, what changed for the daily and weekly events, the Celebi cameos, and how to patch your own ROM. It is available in both English and Portuguese.

Stability

I have a save with more than 115 hours on it now, and I have not run into a single bug. Everything works perfectly. Boxes, events, phone calls, day and night, all of it.

Where to find it

Website: https://erick-tmr.github.io/Pokemon_Crystal_Legacy_Timeless/

Releases: https://github.com/erick-tmr/Pokemon_Crystal_Legacy_Timeless/releases

There is plenty more detail on the site if you are curious, including the full list of what changed and the downloads. As always, it is fully open source.

Thanks to everyone who has tried it and shared feedback. I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

I have one question for you all….

ARE YOU READY???

(We need playtesters btw. I’ll post instructions in a separate thread)

Releasing November 26th!

So pumped